title: Neural representations of close others in collectivistic brains.
abstract: Our recent work showed that close relationships result in shared cognitive and neural representations of the self and one's mother in collectivistic individuals (Zhu et al., 2007, Neuroimage, 34, 1310-7). However, it remains unknown whether close others, such as mother, father and best friend, are differentially represented in collectivistic brains. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a trait judgment task, we showed evidence that, while trait judgments of the self and mother generated comparable activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and anterior cingulate (ACC) of Chinese adults, trait judgments of mother induced greater MPFC/ACC activity than trait judgments of father and best friend. Our results suggest that, while neural representations of the self and mother overlapped in the MPFC/ACC, close others such as mother, father and best friend are unequally represented in the MPFC/ACC of collectivistic brains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Yina
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xuedong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jingqian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jinzhao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shihui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult